Amazon Releases Free 'Kindle for iPhone' Application

[wrz0170]

There're a lot of free kindle books you can download for a try. Just go to Amazon's kindle books pages and sort according to price, lowest first, and the freebies will come up.

Thanks for the great tip! I did browse a bit in the free field, but saw nothing that I was interested in. I did take the plunge and get a book I wanted to read. I figured, might as well try something I want to read.

Went on my laptop. Ordered my book from the Kindle book store with just a click. I went to my iPhone, opened the Kindle app. It synched and there it was.

I've read about 3 chapters so far and I have to say it is pleasant. Easy on the eyes. Very quick to turn pages with just a swipe. With just a tap on the upper right corner you can bookmark.

My only minor beef(s) is the translation from hardcopy to e-copy. You will find some odd spacing. Couple mispelled words and a charachter in place of a letter (ha$). I had some maps that were included in my e-book, however there was no way to magnify them so I could see them, or at least I haven't found anything.

I like it so far and I am one who enjoys books. This is the first release so I am forgiving of the quirks as I know there should be updates soon.

 

[SFC Archer]

U Can Purchase eBooks in the App

There was an App review done by Jeremy Harowitz
http://www.ilounge.com/index.php/reviews/entry/amazon-kindle-for-iphone/
that reviewed the Kindle App. In the review he stated that you had to purchase your ebooks through Safari. This is not entirely true. You can purchase ebooks through the Kindle App.

1) To do this a reader needs to go shopping for free using your computer. Go to Amazon and the Kindle Book Store and start looking for ALL the titles that interest you or you want to check out.

2) For each book that peeks your interest, select the book and an option to download a free sample will show on the right side of the screen. Continue to select all the FREE samples you want.

3) Now open your iPhone Kindle App and it will sync ALL of your samples to your iPhone. Review your samples when ever you want, if you like what you see and you decide to purchase the book either scroll to the last page or double tap and select veiw last page.

4) On the last page will be the option to purchase the book. By selecting purchase, it will charge your account (must have it established in Amazon) and sync the remainder of the book to your iPhone without leaving the app.

This is actually a better option in my opinion because it allows people to review samples before purchasing off the cuff. This will actually save you money by reviewing the sample instead of purchasing in a store option within the app or even at Amazon web site. You do not end up purchasing or wasting precious dollars on a poor purchase or something that you reviewed and it did not meet expectations.

This is great for reviewing kids books also. Some books will download and show color pictures which the Kindle Reader can not do. The iPhone will show colored pictures if the publisher allowed it.

Hope this is helpful to all!
Good Luck and Read a Book a Week

 

[lftrghtparadigm]

As far as I'm concerned this app does 2 things:

1. Gives you an overpriced Kindle for Free. = Awesome

2. Replaces the need for any such offering directly from Apple.

 

[Doctor Q]

A Kindle owner I asked still thinks the screen size is ideal. I've played with the Sony Reader and its size is a reasonable compromise. Personally I think the iPhone is too small for regular book reading, although it'll do in a pinch.

Maybe having the right book to read is the real key. Here's a thriller of a page-turner that's free for iPhone: Formation of Vegetable Mould!

Actually, I enjoy reading scientific books, and this one has a pretty well-regarded author. But I'll be surprised if it makes the best seller list!

 

[megfilmworks]

Obviously people take eye health for granted. But bad things happen, and reading a book in an Iphone will increase chances for ugly problems. Besides, reading on Kindle is pleasing. But who wants to read a book on an Iphone? Even a totally brainwashed fanboy would know where the limits are.

Any facts about eye problems caused by reading on an iPhone?
Please post facts.

 

[JGowan]

oops ... double post!!

 

[Andrew K.]

As far as I'm concerned this app does 2 things:

1. Gives you an overpriced Kindle for Free. = Awesome

2. Replaces the need for any such offering directly from Apple.

As far as you know this App is 2 things:

1. Does not give you a Kindle, ( if you have never seen or experienced an e-ink screen you need to before you bash it. )

2. Amazon's ploy to direct you to the Amazon store to show the kindle 2 through their site.


Seriously just because iphones have LCDs and have a touchscreen doesn't mean it's better to look at for long periods of time. The Kindles screen needs to be black and white because books are, well, black and white ( or light gray tone ) as for the kindle. The kindle screen is crisp and clear and after a short while you don't even feel like your looking at a screen.

 

[wrz0170]

A Kindle owner I asked still thinks the screen size is ideal. I've played with the Sony Reader and its size is a reasonable compromise. Personally I think the iPhone is too small for regular book reading, although it'll do in a pinch.

Maybe having the right book to read is the real key. Here's a thriller of a page-turner that's free for iPhone: Formation of Vegetable Mould!

Actually, I enjoy reading scientific books, and this one has a pretty well-regarded author. But I'll be surprised if it makes the best seller list!

I was just as skeptical as you are about reading a full novel on the iPhone. I took a leap and I have to say, I am pleasantly surprised.

I decided to purchase a book I wanted to read to put the incentive there to read it. Now, I am several chapters in and it is easy on the eyes and it is east to "turn" pages. Now the interface does need a bit of work as well as the translation to e-format. Couple of very minor errors. I feel that some updates should fix the quirks.

Give it a shot.

 

[Night Spring]

I was just as skeptical as you are about reading a full novel on the iPhone. I took a leap and I have to say, I am pleasantly surprised.

I read two novels on the iPhone over the weekend, one in Kindle and one in Stanza. Stanza gave a slightly better experience, as I was able to customize the color of the text and background. I found a color combination that reduced glare while maintaining enough contrast between text and background. Also, Stanza has better line spacing. However, the Kindle app was also quite readable, once I got used to the odd spacing.

However, I have to say that I prefer reading with apps like BookShelf and InstaPaper, which allow you to scroll through the document, instead of "turning" pages. In Stanza and Kindle, sometimes the page breaks come in awkward places, and I have to flip back and forth between the pages in order to take in the whole sentence. With BookShelf and InstaPaper, you can scroll the page until the whole sentence is visible at once.

Obviously, the small screen size of the iPhone *is* a drawback, but it's not as much of a drawback as one would think. I find that when I adjust the font size to be comfortable for my eyes, the screen basically displays the amount of text that can be taken in by the human eye at a glance. When reading a regular book or a larger ebook reader like the Kindle or the Sony reader, we aren't really "seeing" the entire page at once -- our eyes are focused on a single line, at most two at a time. While there are some types of reading material where it aids comprehension to be able to quickly glance back and forth between different parts of a printed page, most reading is linear -- we just read from top to bottom and never look back. Thus, I found that having only a small amount of text visible at a time has surprisingly little effect on my reading speed or comprehension. Or my ability to immese myself in a good story.

Only thing is, I'm now wishing I could combine all the features I like from various e-reader apps into one, and then read any book on my own custom e-reader app, regardless of format or source!

 

[iPhoneNYC]

Kindle App

I've downloaded the app and I think I discovered the true reason for it's release: Kindle on a Kindle is better than Kindle on an iPhone. So a certain percentage of us will eventually throw in the towel and pay the $350 for the Kindle (or Apple wil release a bigger iPhone...)

 

[wrz0170]

Indeed, Kindle for iPhone does have some quirks with line spacing. I found some odd characters as well. The other oddity was not being able to magnify the maps that came with my eBook.

Keep an eye on this though. This is just the first release of the software. I think some good updates will be forthcoming.

I will most likely stick with kindle for the iPhone because of Amazon and their selection of books. But not enough for me to fork over 3 and a half Franklins for a Kindle2!! Wee bit too much.

I read two novels on the iPhone over the weekend, one in Kindle and one in Stanza. Stanza gave a slightly better experience, as I was able to customize the color of the text and background. I found a color combination that reduced glare while maintaining enough contrast between text and background. Also, Stanza has better line spacing. However, the Kindle app was also quite readable, once I got used to the odd spacing.

However, I have to say that I prefer reading with apps like BookShelf and InstaPaper, which allow you to scroll through the document, instead of "turning" pages. In Stanza and Kindle, sometimes the page breaks come in awkward places, and I have to flip back and forth between the pages in order to take in the whole sentence. With BookShelf and InstaPaper, you can scroll the page until the whole sentence is visible at once.

Obviously, the small screen size of the iPhone *is* a drawback, but it's not as much of a drawback as one would think. I find that when I adjust the font size to be comfortable for my eyes, the screen basically displays the amount of text that can be taken in by the human eye at a glance. When reading a regular book or a larger ebook reader like the Kindle or the Sony reader, we aren't really "seeing" the entire page at once -- our eyes are focused on a single line, at most two at a time. While there are some types of reading material where it aids comprehension to be able to quickly glance back and forth between different parts of a printed page, most reading is linear -- we just read from top to bottom and never look back. Thus, I found that having only a small amount of text visible at a time has surprisingly little effect on my reading speed or comprehension. Or my ability to immese myself in a good story.

Only thing is, I'm now wishing I could combine all the features I like from various e-reader apps into one, and then read any book on my own custom e-reader app, regardless of format or source!

 

[Night Spring]

Keep an eye on this though. This is just the first release of the software. I think some good updates will be forthcoming.

I will most likely stick with kindle for the iPhone because of Amazon and their selection of books. But not enough for me to fork over 3 and a half Franklins for a Kindle2!! Wee bit too much.

I do hope they'll come out with updates to improve the app -- I'd love to have landscape mode as well.

And totally agree about the cost of the Kindle being a wee bit much. Plus, it's another device to tote around, and for me, it's a wee bit big.

I'm satsified enough for now with my iPhone reading experience. Though I'm hoping that the rumors of a "Mac Tablet" turns out to be true, because, for books with graphics, a bigger surface would indeed be better.

 

[wrz0170]

I do hope they'll come out with updates to improve the app -- I'd love to have landscape mode as well.

And totally agree about the cost of the Kindle being a wee bit much. Plus, it's another device to tote around, and for me, it's a wee bit big.

I'm satsified enough for now with my iPhone reading experience. Though I'm hoping that the rumors of a "Mac Tablet" turns out to be true, because, for books with graphics, a bigger surface would indeed be better.

FWIW, if you goto the homepage on the Kindle App, click the "i" button, lower right, you will see a link to email kindle@amazon I just emailed my suggestions. Perhaps it's a faster pipeline than the app review section. Email your suggestions. The more voices that are heard the better!

 

[sneeks]

Can you download books? Click on book and see if it will let you download a sample.

I'm in the UK and I downloaded the app from the US store. No problems downloading the free samples to the iPhone using my UK registered Amazon account, I've not tried buying a book though so don't know if that'll work or not.

 

[jhsfosho]

This sounds pretty cool, but I don't know if my eyes could take reading off my iPod's screen for extended periods of time. If its something quick I don't mind the iPod's screen but I can't use it for a long time like I would need to for reading a book.

 

[cualexander]

Anyone who says this totally replaces a Kindle, has not seen e-ink in person. Pictures do not do e-ink justice. When I first went into Borders and looked at the Sony 505, I thought they had a fake display on it, because it was giving off no light whatsoever. Then I actually hit the next page button and I saw it update. The iphone does wear your eyes out even if you aren't realizing it. I know this because I'll set the iphone down and pick up my Kindle and my eyes just rejoice. It's so wonderful reading off an e-ink device. There is no light radiating on you from an e-ink device. And try not charging the iphone for a week and see how far you get.

Also, try to read an iphone in bright direct sunlight and tell me how much fun it is. I can read the Kindle just perfect on the beach. It really is just awesome technology. Read the e-ink website(http://www.e-ink.com). It's really going to be the hottest new technology of the future.

 

[kas23]

Anyone who says this totally replaces a Kindle, has not seen e-ink in person...

I agree. E-ink is very cool. However, the release of this app gives people who own an iPhone a really good reason for not spending $360 on a kindle.

 

[Night Spring]

Also, try to read an iphone in bright direct sunlight and tell me how much fun it is. I can read the Kindle just perfect on the beach. It really is just awesome technology. Read the e-ink website(http://www.e-ink.com). It's really going to be the hottest new technology of the future.

You do have a good point about reading on the beach! However, I recently played with a Sony ebook reader at a store (sorry, don't know the model name), and the way it refreshed pages just killed me. It kind of goes all black, then slowly resolves into the next page. Maybe the Kindle is faster at "turning" pages? But all the Sony readers I've seen make me feel that E-ink could be the technology of the future, but it has a lot more growing up to do.

 

[Shivetya]

You do have a good point about reading on the beach! However, I recently played with a Sony ebook reader at a store (sorry, don't know the model name), and the way it refreshed pages just killed me. It kind of goes all black, then slowly resolves into the next page. Maybe the Kindle is faster at "turning" pages? But all the Sony readers I've seen make me feel that E-ink could be the technology of the future, but it has a lot more growing up to do.

Lady at work brought one in, it is very impressive and easy to read. Don't care for the "real buttons" and I would prefer a touch screen, perhaps that is what Apple is coming out with?

Does make me wonder after seeing and playing with the Kindle why textbooks will be allowed to exist.